“Who would dare to make you give up your place?”

These words made Zheng Fan feel as if he was being “seen through.”

The word "dare" here can be considered truly rebellious.

Everyone was part of the Yan army, and although they belonged to different factions, they were nominally acting on the orders of the Emperor. Even if there was some disobedience, it was within the bounds of what was allowed.

Even when the generals of the Zhenbei Army tried to win him over, they only hinted at it, not daring to be so blunt.

Zheng Fan felt a chill run down his spine.

For a moment,

he wanted to kneel down and reaffirm his loyalty to Great Yan, his loyalty to the Emperor, and his loyalty to the Marquis.

But he felt that doing so would be too contrived.

Marquis Jingnan had already made his intentions clear, so why would you still try to deceive him?

In normal times, joking around and being a little out of line was harmless, simply a bit of fun.

After all, he was a confidant, a close aide, so he deserved some privileges, didn't he?

But doing so now would be truly ungrateful.

Most importantly, given the relationship between himself and Marquis Jingnan, the Marquis wouldn't use this kind of approach to test him.

It wasn't likely that if he had even a hint of disloyalty, he would be immediately killed.

Therefore, General Zheng, who was usually so eloquent, was at a loss for words.

Tian Wujing stood up, walked to the door of the residence, and paused, saying:

“There are still some matters in the army that I need to take care of. There are tens of thousands of Chu soldiers waiting for me in Yupan City. As for you, before the imperial appointment comes down, you will be stationed here. You can also send someone to Shengle City to inform them in advance.

“So that when the appointment comes, the new garrison commander of Shengle City won't be someone else, and it will be harder for you to move your belongings."

Zheng Fan bowed and said:

“Yes, Marquis.”

After Zheng Fan responded,

Tian Wujing still stood at the door,

not leaving.

A silence fell between them.

About thirty seconds later,

Zheng Fan took a deep breath and said:

“Very healthy, very strong, very active, quite naughty.”

Tian Wujing heard this,

but didn't speak,

nor did he show any expression,

and left the courtyard.

Immediately,

General Zheng slumped down in the rocking chair; he needed to recover.

Not long after Tian Wujing left, Xue San and A Ming walked in.

Liang Cheng had a lot of things to deal with and couldn't spare anyone.

As for Fan Li, it made no difference whether he was there or not, and he might even have a counterproductive effect, so Xue San deliberately didn't call him.

Zheng Fan explained the situation,

and A Ming frowned slightly, feeling a little depressed.

Because it seemed he would have to start building another wine cellar.

Xue San's eyes lit up, and he said:

“My lord, this is great! So we'll be the local overlords here from now on? Hehe, truly far from the Emperor, in the high mountains! From now on, we'll be like An Lushan, like Wu Sangui, hehehe."

A Ming glanced at Xue San and said:

“Can't you say some auspicious names?”

“Uh…” Xue San.

Zheng Fan rubbed his face and pointed outside, saying:

“We have to start all over again. There are some people in the city, but outside the city, it's almost a hundred-li no-man's-land.”

Xue San quickly said, “My lord, a no-man's-land is good too! No demolition fees or resettlement fees to pay.

“We can redesign and plan everything. We can treat our time in Shengle City as experience gained.”

“Starting workshops is tiring,” A Ming said.

Previously in Shengle City, A Ming was responsible for the workshop business.

“Building some houses, repairing some furnaces, making some tools, what's so tiring about that?” Xue San retorted.

“Those are secondary. What about skilled workers? We have to retrain them,” A Ming said.

“Hey, what's the big deal? It's very simple." Xue San continued with a smile: "According to the rules of Great Yan, new generals can bring their original troops with them when they are transferred. Since we are going to be stationed at Xuehai Pass, we definitely can't have too few soldiers, so the five thousand soldiers left in Shengle must be transferred here. The imperial court won't stop us on this matter.

"And maybe, Marquis Jingnan will have to give us some more troops. The Yan army and the Jingnan army are tempting, but after successive battles, they themselves need to replenish their strength, and it's unlikely they can give us reinforcements.

"A few troops from the original Cheng country can be transferred here, which will make it easier for us to operate.

"As for the original craftsmen and skilled workers in Shengle City, it's simple, just relocate them here.”

Hearing this, Zheng Fan raised his head and asked:

“Relocate?”

“Yes, my lord, isn't it deserted here? This no-man's-land is so big, haha, let them come! When they come, we'll give them land to cultivate and houses to live in. Those villages that are almost empty will have their houses nationalized and redistributed. We don't believe no one will be interested.

"Also, my lord, don't forget that we provided the private schools for the children in Shengle City and medical care for the people. These were benefits that only existed when you, my lord, were the general of Shengle.

"Now that you've been transferred, how can those benefits continue? Those spoiled brats who are used to good days…

"Oh no, those Shengle people, having tasted the sweetness of those days, how could they be willing to leave you?

"As long as we continue to implement some of the previous policies in the Xuehai Pass area, your subordinate dares to guarantee that more than 90% of the original people in Shengle City will be willing to relocate here.

"If it's still the same people, it's just a matter of building some more houses. Everything can quickly get back on track."

Xue San was very proud of his analysis.

A Ming then said:

“What are you so proud of? My lord anticipated this and made these arrangements and provided those benefits in Shengle City in advance.”

Hearing this, Xue San stared at A Ming with wide eyes, looking as if to say, "How can you be so shameless?"

Zheng Fan pressed his hand down and said:

“Let's do it this way. Anyway, the battle is over. A Ming, you take a team of knights and hurry back to Shengle. Tell Blind Man and Si Niang about the situation here and let them prepare early. Mobilize the people, and anything that can be moved, whether it's people or food, except for the city walls that can't be pried off, move it all over here for me!"

“Yes, my lord.”

Zheng Fan exhaled and said:

“Liu Huangshu could attract a large group of people to follow him in his escape with a few tears. If our solid welfare policies can't attract people, then we'll have truly wasted our time.

"By the way, let Blind Man spread rumors in advance, saying that the newly appointed garrison commander is a butcher, commits all kinds of evil, likes to exploit the people the most, and despises the Jin people… Never mind, never mind, there's no need to remind Blind Man about these things. He'll only do them better than I can imagine.”

Blind Man was an expert in this field, best at stirring up people's hearts. With him personally in charge, he wouldn't leave behind a single chicken, let alone people.

In fact, the reason why Marquis Jingnan told him about this in advance was to give himself a buffer period to make arrangements.

After all, even the Marquis, who was in Lichuan City, knew how popular the goods in Shengle City were and knew that it would take more time for Zheng Fan to move.

As for what kind of "Shengle" the next garrison commander of Shengle City would face, that was not something Zheng Fan needed to worry about.

He would soon be promoted to the chief military officer of Xuehai Pass. A small garrison commander of Shengle was not worthy of talking to him.

At this moment, Fan Li ran over and came in, looking a little surprised:

“You're all here.”

“What's wrong?” Zheng Fan asked.

“My lord, the Sword Saint is awake.”

……

The Sword Saint was awake,

but the Sword Saint seemed to be paralyzed as well.

After re-examining him, Xue San came to the conclusion that the Sword Saint was temporarily unable to get out of bed. His body was extremely depleted, in a state where he was about to run out of fuel, but temporarily wouldn't.

The most dangerous period had passed, but whether he could take care of himself in the future depended on his recovery and when a miracle would occur.

It was hard to imagine

that the Sword Saint, who had killed a thousand riders outside Xuehai Pass a few days ago and made great contributions to defending Xuehai Pass,

was now lying here sadly.

Zheng Fan squatted down by the bed, and the Sword Saint opened his mouth and said:

“Tian Wujing came?”

Zheng Fan nodded,

“He came. The barbarians who entered Jin this time are basically finished.”

The expression on the Sword Saint's face relaxed a lot.

This was a belief of the Sword Saint, and it was also his greatest sustenance for the past six months. Now, it was finally completed.

“I am now, a useless person.”

“You have rendered meritorious service to the Xia, and you have shed blood for Great Yan.

“Don't worry, I will take care of you.”

“Heh.”

The Sword Saint didn't take it seriously and continued:

“The reward money for the heads of a thousand barbarians.”

“It will be converted, and it will be given to your concu…

“To that lady.”

The Sword Saint closed his eyes, as if he was relieved.

Zheng Fan was really worried that if the Sword Saint had no worries, he would complete his lifelong wish with those old men and women and then kick the bucket directly.

But fortunately,

even though the Sword Saint was paralyzed, he was still going strong.

“I don't want you to take care of me. I said, my sword will only help you kill barbarians. Now that the barbarians have been driven out, even if I am a useless person, I will not listen to your orders to wield my sword for you.”

“Tsk, you don't have a say in that.”

“Heh, seeing that I'm useless, you want to force me?”

“You speak as if I'm that kind of person?”

“Not like, you are.”

“You, just rest here and recuperate, slowly conditioning your body. If you can't get better, I'll pick some sword-wielding seeds for you to train well. It can be considered as putting your remaining energy to good use;

"If your body improves, that would be even more desirable.”

“The barbarians are gone, I won't do anything for you.”

“Let me finish what I have to say. In the future, there will be plenty of places for you to use your strength. If nothing unexpected happens, I will be stationed at Xuehai Pass in the future.”

“Stationed at Xuehai Pass?”

“Mmhmm.”

The Sword Saint smiled,

although he smiled reluctantly, it could be seen that he was quite gratified.

“You are so wicked, I can rest assured with you guarding this place.”

“…………” Zheng Fan.

The Sword Saint pursed his lips and said, “But I'm useless.”

“Take good care of yourself, you should be able to get out of bed.”

“Even if I get out of bed, I'll be useless.”

“You can be a city guard, put on a show, just stand there.”

“That's somewhat promising.”

“Then you have to recover well.”

“Okay, but I have one request.”

“You say.”

“I will only guard the north gate.”

“Deal.”

——————

There will be another update before one o'clock in the morning. The updates have been quite diligent lately. If you have any tickets, please vote for chun jie di xiao long. I plan to improve my results with diligence. Thank you for your support.